


Christmas in Paris, Paris in Christmas

by rebecca_selene



Category: The Haunting (1999)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 06:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16969422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebecca_selene/pseuds/rebecca_selene
Summary: Nell dreams of Paris.





	Christmas in Paris, Paris in Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> written for:  
>      -[](https://adventdrabbles.dreamwidth.org/profile)[ **adventdrabbles**](https://adventdrabbles.dreamwidth.org/) prompt 12: [Christmas tree](https://imgur.com/GteO38G)  
>      -[](https://fffc.dreamwidth.org/profile)[ **fffc**](https://fffc.dreamwidth.org/) Advent Calendar Day 12: roasting chestnuts  
>      -[](https://picture-prompt-fun.dreamwidth.org/profile)[ **picture_prompt_fun**](https://picture-prompt-fun.dreamwidth.org/) Advent Calendar Day 12: [arch lights & decorated tree](https://picturepromptfun-mod.dreamwidth.org/file/109773.jpg)

They spent Christmas in Paris. Theo lead Nell through the cobblestone streets until the paths became as familiar to her as her own body. They ate and admired (or criticized) so much art Nell's head spun from the colors and all the wine they drank. And they laughed. They laughed until Nell's sides ached and her eyes leaked and her unburdened chest felt lighter than air.

Each night they ended with a different treat, a croissant or ice cream or roasted chestnuts or coffee or a combination of them all. No matter where they explored during the day, they always ended up at the same plaza at night, viewing the Arc de Triomphe and the glittering holiday-decorated trees around it. Nell lost herself, mesmerized, in the golden ornaments and tinkling white lights. Theo, for all her bubbly personality, managed to keep silent until Nell came out of her trance and said she was ready to return to the hotel. They stayed until after New Year’s, only returning home after the city took down the Arc’s decorations.

The next year, to Nell's slight disappointment, they stayed home for Christmas. She still dreamed of those gold and white Christmas baubles, the heat of chestnuts in her hands. the taste of coffee on Theo's lips, the uneven cobblestone under her feet, and the lights of the Louvre beckoning her. At her therapist’s suggestion she had been using her memories as focusing points for her mindfulness exercises, but she longed to see the real things again.

When Nell told Theo, she smiled and promised they would coordinate a vacation between their work schedules soon. Nell thought that would be the end of it, but when she came home from her job at the daycare on Christmas Eve, she gasped at the Christmas tree now standing in their living room. Golden balls hung all around it, shining in the white lights woven between them. A light jazz song played in the background, the exact one they'd heard a street performer playing one night in the plaza that she'd offhandedly mentioned she’d liked to Theo and promptly forgot about. Tears welled in her eyes.

Theo wrapped her arms around Nell. "I couldn't bring you to Paris right now, but I brought what I could of Paris to you. Merry Christmas, love."

"Home is where the heart is," Nell whispered before pulling Theo into a deep kiss.


End file.
